George RR Martin wrote another impassioned blog post about the Writers Guild of America's ongoing strike, covering what he believes is the most pressing issue of the strike: mini rooms.
Writers in Hollywood are fighting for several key issues, among them the dismantling of the mini-room model, which enables studios to hire fewer writers, making them as disposable as possible and separating them from the production process, which compensates be important for. and career growth.
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as martin puts it on blog not websitegetting rid of mini rooms” is one of the most important things the guild is fighting for. The right to have that kind of career path. To enable new writers, young writers, and yes, prose writers to climb the same ladder … Streamers and short seasons have splintered the ladder.
Martin, best known for penning the “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and serving as a writer and co-executive producer on HBO's hit adaptation “Game of Thrones,” first directed “The Twilight Zone.” and entered Hollywood as a writer. 1987 “Beauty and the Beast” television series. He argues that the advice and experience he gained while working on the making of “The Twilight Zone” was invaluable, and he worries that today's up-and-coming writers are not allowed the same access.
“There is no film school in the world that could teach me as much about television production as I learned during that one and a half season on ‘The Twilight Zone,'” Martin writes.
Martin then goes into more depth, explaining: “The way it works now, a show is put into development, the listeners assemble a ‘mini room', made up of some senior writers and some newcomers. is, they meet for a month. or two, beat the season, break down the episodes, go out and write the script, regroup, get notes, give notes, rewrite, rinse and repeat.. .and finally turn [in] Scripts. [The] The show is greenlit (or not, some shows never leave the room) and sent into production. The showrunner and his second, maybe his second and his third, take it from there.
He says, “Junior writer? They are not there. Once he delivered his script and made two revisions, he was paid, sent home, his salary gone. They are looking for another gig. If the series gets another season, maybe they'll be brought back. Maybe they won't. Maybe they can't, because they're in another mini room for another show. If he is brought back, he may get a promotion… but it is not guaranteed.
Martin noted that, in negotiations, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) offered the WGA the opportunity to have some writers “shadow” showrunners and producers on set, “even if it was a There won't be absolute authority. Maybe they'll be allowed in, maybe not. These are the people who wrote the stories being filmed, who created the characters, who wrote the words that the actors are saying.
Wrapping up his thoughts, Martin writes, “Mini rooms are disgusting, and AMPTP refuses to pay writers to stay with their shows through production – as part of the job, for which they are paid.” need to do, not as a tourist – not only is it wrong, it's incredibly short-sighted. If story editors of 2023 aren't allowed to get any production experience, studios will think that shows of 2033 Where are the runners going to come from? If nothing else, the WGA needs to win on that issue. No matter how long it takes.”
one in Blog post from earlier this weekMartin announced that the “Game of Thrones” spinoff “The Hedge Knight” has barricaded its writers' room in acknowledgment of the strike, after the writers offered their “unequivocal support” to the WGA.
“I want to go on the record with the full and complete and unequivocal support of my guild,” Martin wrote. “Perhaps the AMPTP members will come to their senses tomorrow and make some meaningful concessions, and the whole thing can be wrapped up next week. I wouldn't bet the farm on that, though… the issues are more important, and I've never seen the guild so united.” Never seen as much as it is now.
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